Deadpool and Wolverine – What The MCU Needed (Early Review)

After the events of Avengers: Endgame, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was in a position where it could take its storylines in several different directions, as well as give more time to characters who had yet to receive a larger spotlight. At the same time, the X-Men universe which began in 2000 with X-Men came to a conclusion with 2019’s Dark Phoenix and later, 2020’s The New Mutants, and with the acquisition of 20th Century Fox by Disney, it seemed for a while that the return of any characters in that line of movies was anything but certain. This was made even less unclear with the reveal that there would be new actors being cast for the X-Men, Fantastic Four and any others that came under the previous franchise’s banner.

Cut to 2024. After a few quick appearances of former X-Men cast members in WandaVision, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and The Marvels, the Fox and Marvel Cinematic Universe collide with Deadpool and Wolverine, the third outing for the Merc with a Mouth, and his official entry in the MCU. It also marks a pivotal shift for the franchise, with it being Marvel Studios’ first ever R-rated film, dialing up everything from the language to its violence. Most notably, the film also marks the return of Hugh Jackman as the titular clawed mutant, who was last seen in Logan where he was given a wonderful but bittersweet sendoff that ended with his death in the arms of his daughter Laura.

Reviewing a film like this before its release is difficult, as the intent is to avoid spoilers at all costs, but it wastes no time bringing audiences into the multiversal chaos currently unfolding within the franchise, as Wade Wilson (Reynolds) has to team up with the Wolverine (Jackman) in order to stop an event that could destroy the very fabric of reality and wipe out Deadpool’s timeline, encountering Cassandra Nova (Corrin) in the process and having to fight her to complete the mission. What follows is a cornucopia of events loaded to the brim with a bunch of surprises, some incredibly gory and violent action sequences, and enough self-referential humor to power several towns at once. It’s also something that the MCU desperately needed to bring them back to some standing, and even ranks among one of their most entertaining offerings to date.

The Deadpool movies inhabit their own space when it comes to storytelling and what they want to accomplish. Across now three entries, what makes them come together is in their understanding of the character and how his specific brand of humor works. With Deadpool and Wolverine, that understanding continues to work its magic, with several callouts and puns made about ongoing situations leading to intense laugh out loud moments that will have an audience erupting in unison. Reynolds continues to showcase that he was born to play the part, once again giving Deadpool some genuine heart to go with the unseriousness of his personality reflected so often, offering the character a multitude of emotions to connect with.

Similarly, Jackman slips back into the role of Wolverine without missing a beat, playing a very different version of the character and one who is far more fun than his Logan counterpart of his that perished. This Wolverine has to deal with his own set of traumatic memories and painful days like his predecessor, managing to make a compelling version of his own to connect with. As the two meet and have to work out their differences on the battlefield, Reynolds and Jackman have excellent chemistry, as Deadpool and Wolverine play off each other very effectively, both in conversations and fights.

Once the action kicks in, it is relentless and makes as much use of its R-rating as it can, as blood is spilled, heads roll, and body parts are severed, stabbed and shot at more times than one could possibly count, all set to a soundtrack featuring an assortment of songs by Madonna, NSYNC, The Goo Goo Dolls, and Olivia Newton-John just to name a few. Being the first film under the MCU for adults, it delivers on all the fronts one would expect, with some moments that much like the comedy, will have audiences cheering along the whole time. This was made very much with the fans in mind, delivering on exactly what many would want to see in it. As such, the issues in Deadpool and Wolverine–overloaded story at times, some faulty gags–are swatted away and swept under the rug after a while. Once it kicks into overdrive, those issues dissipate almost entirely, with just a ridiculously over the top and insane romp left to do the rest.

That being said, most of Deadpool and Wolverine is hidden from audiences until its release, which makes it a tough thing to break down any further until more audiences get the chance to see it, but while there might still be a journey back to the top for the MCU yet, the film gives it a pulse that was desperately needed and leads to an incredibly satisfying experience loaded with Easter eggs and references that will be dissected by comic book fans for a long, long while to come.

When it comes to the MCU, the question about post credit scenes is an inevitable one and in the case of Deadpool and Wolverine, audiences can expect one scene.

(Watch my review of Deadpool and Wolverine here)

still courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Marvel

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Shaurya Chawla